Fascinated by the art and life of Gustav Klimt? NSCAD hosts a historical exhibition dedicated to the pre-eminent Art Nouveau painter on the 150th year of his birth.

Eleven “tribute panels,” on loan from the Austrian Embassy, will be on display on the second floor exhibition space at the Port Campus, 1107 Marginal Road, Halifax until Monday, Feb. 24. The panels were created to commemorate the official Gustav Klimt Year in Austria. They focus on the 19th century Austrian artist by recreating the atmosphere of fin-de-siècle Vienna through historical photographs, biographical notes and reproductions of his finest and most famous works of art, including The Kiss (1907), Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (1907) and Death and Life (1916).

“We’re very pleased to have this opportunity and to present the work of Klimt to our students,” says Prof. Rebecca Hannon, chair of NSCAD’s Foundation Division. “You can’t help but admire what he did. His paintings are so evocative, sensual and gorgeously patterned.”

Klimt was born 150 years ago in Baumgarten, near Vienna in Austria-Hungary. At a young age, he was awarded a scholarship to the Vienna School of Arts and Crafts. He became one of the founding members of the Vienna Secession which had the goal of providing exhibitions for unconventional young artists and to bring the work of artists from abroad. Klimt himself became known for the highly decorative style, symbolism and erotic nature of his works.

"For us it's about forging cultural cooperation. We're happy that it worked out and that these panels could come to NSCAD. It seems to us an obvious choice for the display," said Katharine Beaman, Honorary Vice Consul with the Consulate General of Austria in Halifax.

“I have the gift of neither the spoken nor the written word, especially if I have to say something about myself or my work. Whoever wants to know something about me--as an artist, the only notable thing--ought to look carefully at my pictures and try and see in them what I am and what I want to do.” - Gustav Klimt (1862-1918)